Night Night, Farm is a short but sweet children's book written by Amy Parker and illustrated by Virginia Allyn. It goes across the farm as all the animal families prepare for bedtime.

The book is a rhyming one, so it is fun for parents to read and good for growing baby brains.

And in the end, the readers are reminded of where it all begins: with God.

The illustrations are fun as well. Of course, being set on the farm, there are lots of animals to discover with your child. Really cute animals I might add.

In fact, after my family read it together for the first time, my wife took the book and flipped through it again just to look at all of the cute baby animals in their footie pajamas. The sprawled out foal is perhaps our favorite.

In other words, Night Night, Farm is a very enjoyable children's book that my family and I recommend.

Enter for a chance to win Night Night, Farm! Just click the button below.

Please familiarize yourself with the giveaway rules at the bottom of this post if you are not familiar with them already. This giveaway will close on Monday, August 15th, 2016 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Any entries that might we received after that will not be accepted.

Giveaways are open to residents of the continental U.S.A and Canada only. I will only use your information to notify the winner and let FlyBy Promotions send the prize. I will not use it again (unless you provide it again) or sell it.

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising"):
Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winner and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Although not all of us, including myself, have children with special needs, we probably know someone who does or have worked with such people at some point. Through these experiences, we learn how challenging it can be to care for a person with special needs, but also how fantastic such a person can be.

They see the world in such a different and sometimes refreshing way.

In their book The Life We Never Expected, British couple Andrew and Rachel Wilson highlight both ends of the spectrum. They acknowledge the difficulties and disappointments of having two autistic children, but also the joys and the lessons learned.

This book is a quick and easy read, but by no means shallow. The authors share some fantastic concepts that they support with passages from the Bible and from other people. In fact, the whole structure of the book is based on Psalm 130.

These concepts go beyond raising special needs children and touch everyone who may be suffering or struggling with something, and that is exactly what the authors intended.

There were several sections that especially spoke to me, but a couple that stuck with me were "Individualitis and the Dung Gate" (Andrew and Rachel have very interesting and often amusing writing styles) and "Daydreaming about Eternity."

In the former, Andrew talks about how he and many others suffer from a disease called individualitis. Each of us thinks it's all about "me" when it should be about the Church as a whole.

In the latter, Andrew talks about the glories and the changes that will come over the world and his children in the future. I have found similar thoughts to bring great joy to my soul, especially lately after the death of my uncle.

So I highly recommend you pick up The Life We Never Expected and read it. There will be something for you in it.

- James D. McIntosh Jr.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Giveaway [Closed]

Win a copy of The Life We Never Expected!

Giveaways are open to residents of the continental U.S. and Canada only. Please read the below notices and then click here to enter in the giveaway.

Giveaway will close on July 16th at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Any submissions after that will not be accepted. I will choose a winner randomly.

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising"): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winner and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

My Mother's Quilts is a devotional written Ramona Richards and published by Worthy Publishing. Each chapter of it features one of the quilts Richards's mother made and/or owned.

Each chapter, of which there are about 60 that are each about 3 small pages in length, also contains a story about the featured quilt from the life of Richards or one of her family members. This story is in turn connected to a Bible verse, a lesson/thought, and a prayer.

It all feels like it is mostly aimed towards women, but men can read and enjoy it as well.

REVIEW

Pros

If you are a person who has a fondness or respect for history, antiques, heritage, creativity, beauty, and/or faith, My Mother's Quilts is a book you could enjoy.

This book demonstrates a deep respect for hard work, family ties, responsibility, faith, beauty, and even physical warmth. It all jumps off the page and penetrates the reader.

Not to mention I learned a lot about what it takes to quilt and developed as respect and admiration for quilting.

Furthermore, each chapter has at least one photo of the featured quilt, and the colors, patterns, and settings are wonderful and very relaxing to look at. The visuals alone can help lift your spirits.

But the visuals are not all that is in this book. The way Richards tries to tie each quilt into a family story - which can be funny, touching, sad, and/or interesting - and a spiritual thought is encouraging and refreshing. Although the chapters are short, Richards occasionally gets across a really deep thought that can cause you to stop and think.

Cons

There are very often times in My Mother's Quilts when a chapter's verse, story, and lesson feel forced together. Sometimes it is difficult to even see any connection whatsoever.

Although it is nice to see someone putting a spiritual spin on life and items, this flaw can be somewhat distracting.

Additionally, there is occasionally an element of pride in the book. There are a couple points when Richards talks about showing off quilts to friends and family and basking in the praise and feeling proud.

Unlike the forced connections, this is not a strong element. The occasions of it are few and far between, but they are still there.

Summary

Although this book clearly has its flaws, it is still well worth the read. It is not an overall deep book that should be read completely on its own, but it still very good.

When you are feeling down, this book can be uplifting and provide some good encouragements and considerations.​

- James D. McIntosh Jr.

Win This Friendship Quilt!

CONTEST OFFER!
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Win one of the quilts featured in #MyMothersQuilts by Ramona Richards. Also up for grabs: loads of other prizes including quilting hand warmers, coloring books, and 25 signed copies of Ramona's book. Winners will be emailed after the contest ends on June 30, 2016. Click the image to get started!